“Early the next morning, with a pleasant breeze from the NE, we stood over towards the east point of Mororoi (Molokai.) … we sailed to the westward … In this the land rises rather abruptly from the sea, towards the lofty mountains in the center of the east part of Morotoi …”

“… and though the acclivity was great, yet the face of the country, diversified by eminences and vallies, bore a verdant and fertile appearance. It seemed to be well inhabited, in a high state of cultivation, and presented not only a rich but a romantic prospect.” (Captain George Vancouver, March 19, 1793)

“… a beautiful deep valley….watered by a large and delightful stream of fresh water which falls from the mountains…in two grand and beautiful cataracts one of which rushes over a perpendicular decent of more than five hundred feet into a deep…and crystal lake”.

“The stream which issues from the lake … is so situated as to be easily drawn off by sluices into the taro plots…. the valley is principally laid out in these small rectangular plots …” (Hitchcock, 1833; NPS)

In 1877, a native Hawaiian described Hālawa “as a very fertile valley, with wild fruits, mountain shrimps, and much water in the streams…. There were nine hundred and thirteen taro patches and with the hundred and nine others that I hadn’t counted, they totaled a thousand and thirty-two patches. Most of the land is covered in taro”. (NPS)

“The glimpses of Molokai which one obtains from a steamer’s deck while passing to Honolulu from San Francisco or in passing to and from Maui (along its south shore,) give the impression that the island is bleak, mountainous and desolate.”

“Skirting its (north) shores on the Hālawa, Wailua and Pelekunu sides on Wilder’s fine steamer Likelike, gives a far different picture. For miles sheer precipices rise from the sea and tower 1,500 feet into the air.”

“Now and then, and sometimes in groups, beautiful waterfalls are seen on the face of the cliff, now falling in clear view for a couple of hundred feet, now hidden under denses masses of foliage, only to reappear further down, another silvery link In the watery thread which ends In a splash and scintillating mist in the breakers below.” (Hawaiian Gazette, March 31, 1905)

The windward valleys developed into areas of intensive irrigated taro cultivation and seasonal migrations took place to stock up on fish and precious salt for the rest of the year. Kalaupapa was well known for its bountiful ʻuala (sweet potato) crops and its fine-grained, white salt which was preferred over that from the salt ponds of Kawela and Kaunakakai. (Strazar)

John FG Stokes, who was Curator of Polynesian Ethnology at Bishop Museum, was sent to Molokai in 1909 to survey the remains of the ancient Hawaiian temples (heiau) found there. Stokes recorded thirteen medium-sized heiau distributed along the lower slopes and two large luakini heiau.

Molokai used to be referred to as ʻAina Momona (the bountiful land,) reflecting the great productivity of the island and its surrounding ocean.

It is about 38-miles long and 10-miles wide, an area of 260-square miles, making it the 5th largest of the main Hawaiian Islands (and the 27th largest island in the US.)

The island was formed by two volcanoes, East and West, emerging about 1.5-2-million years ago. The cliffs on the north-eastern part of the island are the result of subsidence and the “Wailua Slump” (a giant submarine landslide – about 25-miles long that tumbled about 120-miles offshore – about 1.4-million years ago.)

Hālawa Valley is the easternmost valley at the edge of Molokai’s north shore; four other major valleys span the coastline, from Hālawa westward toward Kalaupapa: from east to west they are Papalaua, Wailau, Pelekunu and Waikolu.

Archeological surveys indicate that by the 1300s, Hālawa Valley’s population had expanded inland, and small irrigation systems were developed along the streams.

By the 1600s, an extensive taro irrigation system dominated the valley’s settlement pattern. At that time, the lower valley was entirely covered in large rectangular fields watered by long irrigation ditches (taro loʻi made up about 55-acres of land.)

Hitchcock who established the first permanent Mission Station at Kaluaʻaha in 1832, gave a census figure of 6,000 for the island. (Strazar)

These early counts were generally taken in the field by both native school teachers and missionaries. During this period, the Reverends Hitchcock and Smith preached once a week at seven different stations from Kamaloʻo to Hālawa, and in 1833 they estimated the population of the entire island to be about 3,300. (Strazar)

“The glimpses of Molokai which one obtains from a steamer’s deck while passing to Honolulu from San Francisco or in passing to and from Maul (along its south shore,) give the impression that the island is bleak, mountainous and desolate.”

“Skirting its (north) shores on the Hālawa, Wailua and Pelekunu sides on Wilder’s fine steamer Likelike, gives a far different picture. For miles sheer precipices rise from the sea and tower 1,500 feet into the air.”

“Now and then, and sometimes in groups, beautiful waterfalls are seen on the face of the cliff, now falling in clear view for a couple of hundred feet, now hidden under denses masses of foliage, only to reappear further down, another silvery link In the watery thread which ends In a splash and scintillating mist in the breakers below.” (Hawaiian Gazette, March 31, 1905)

In the eastern half of Kamalō is the large, amphitheater-headed Kamalō Gulch. Along the steep back wall of the gulch are a series of waterfalls that are known locally as “The Seven Sisters.”

Three of the waterfalls are named on USGS maps (Hina Falls, Moʻoloa Falls, and Haha Falls) and are mentioned in the song Wahine ʻIlikea, by Dennis Kamakahi (1975.) (McElroy)

Beautiful waterfalls of the uplandHina, Haha and MoʻoloaThe three waters in the verdant overgrowthOf Kamalō, in the calm.

The fourth-highest waterfall in the world, Oloʻupena Falls is located on this isolated north shore of the Island. At 2,953 feet, Olo’upena Falls is a tiered, ribbon-thin stream plunging over the side of one of the world’s tallest seaside cliffs, Haloku Cliffs.

Surrounded by huge mountains on either side, the waterfall is so remote that there are no access trails to reach it; it is only accessible by air or sea. If you can get there, the best time to view the falls is during the rainy season – November through March.

These are not the only waterfalls on Molokai – unfortunately, all listed here are relatively hard to get to. Rather than words – look through the album at the images of the falls.

Haha FallsAbout a 700-foot tall fall, one of seven tall waterfalls at the upper rim of Kamalo Canyon.

Moloka‘i Island can be divided into three ecological regions based on rainfall, exposure to northeast trade winds and landform: (1) the wet, windward valleys of the north shore, (2) the dry, leeward valleys of the south shore, and (3) the arid rocklands of the island’s west end.

The Kalaupapa Peninsula, located at the western end of these valleys, is a unique landform formed by a volcanic rejuvenation centered on the Kauhakō Crater (about 330-thousand years ago,) at the base of the north shore’s cliffs.

Archaeological and carbon-dating evidence indicate that the initial settlement and presence of people on the Kalaupapa (“the flat plain”) peninsula on the Island of Molokaʻi was between 800 and 1200.

Next to the peninsula is a distinctly-different, wet ecological zone with sediment soils distributed at the bottoms of the short Waihānau and Wai‘ale‘ia Valleys, the large Waikolu Valley and along the base of the cliffs.

Based on archaeological studies, the northern portion of the peninsula has “two main types of agricultural complexes … alignments with enclosures around them, and alignments without enclosures”. The density of plots within the later type suggested “possible intensification of an earlier field system”.

Identified as the Kalaupapa Field System, there is a grid of rain-fed plots, defined by low stone field walls built, in part, to shelter sweet potatoes and other crops from trade winds, that cover the Kalaupapa Peninsula.

It appears that the field system was a secondary area of settlement and agricultural development, with the wetter valley and sediment soil being the preferred areas.

Like other windward areas, wind erosion is a problem. To address this, long, narrow linear plots (defined by low field walls,) are packed densely together in locations exposed to the northeast trade winds. In addition, plots were in swales between boulder outcrops.

Initial theories suggested the entire field system was primarily the result of a historic boom in the production of potatoes for “gold rush” markets in California.

Recent work by various teams of archaeologists, which included surveys in different ecological zones – specifically, the peninsula and several valleys – revealed a well-preserved archaeological landscape across the region.

Instead of enclosed fields associated with the more recent historic era, archaeologists found dense rows of unenclosed alignments and substantial house sites quite unlike the temporary shelters found in other Hawaiian field systems.

The findings suggest that early agricultural development in the area started well before the “gold rush” exports and was first concentrated in valleys (with permanent streams) and, perhaps more significantly, that most of the Kalaupapa Field System was likely to have been built before European contact.

Although limited cultivation in dryland environments may have begun as early as 1200 and continued through the 13th century, widespread burning across the Kalaupapa Peninsula, which archaeologists suggest signals of the beginning of the Kalaupapa Field System, does not commence until 1450-1550.

It appears that not only is there a correlation between rich, geologically young soils and Hawaiian dryland intensive agricultural systems, but also the creation of these large-scale systems around 1400 appears to have been nearly simultaneous in both windward and leeward districts.

Then, between 1650 and 1795, there were increases in the peninsula population, indicated by house sites, rock shelters, an animal enclosure, a possible shrine and a site interpreted as a men’s house (mua.)

In terms of agriculture, there is good evidence that people continued to actively cultivate the entire area throughout this period.

Following the abandonment of the field system at the end of the 18th century, settlement shifted to small house sites spread along the coast and local roadways.

The introduction of cattle in 1830 caused the construction of large, architecturally-distinct walls to protect fields and yards from roving animals.

In 1849, portions of the fields were reactivated and intensified to supply potatoes and other crops to California’s “gold rush” markets.

The Kingdom of Hawaiʻi instituted in 1865 a near century-long program of segregation and isolation of patients with Hansen’s Disease (leprosy) and patients were banished to the isolated peninsula of Kalaupapa, displacing resident families.

The image is an aerial view of the Kalaupapa peninsula area – the parallel walls are easily evident in the image. Information and images here are from work and publications from Mark D. McCoy, PhD, Assistant Professor, Anthropology at San Jose State University. In addition, I have added other images in a folder of like name in the Photos section on my Facebook page.

When we were kids, we occasionally went to Moloka‘i (for different reasons at different times:) to stay with the Nottages, to hunt or just to cruise around.

On one of these visits we took the family’s 48-foot haole sampan (Na Ali‘i Kai) along the North Shore of the island.

I am always eager to see the Moloka‘i North Shore sea cliffs. From the sea or air, North Shore Moloka‘i is impressive and memorable.

On this trip, we went close to shore and some folks swam into Wailau Valley (the largest along the coast) to cruise around there while the others continued fishing and sightseeing along the coast.

Wailau and Moloka‘i’s North Shore have some interesting history.

The sea cliffs that surround Wailau on the island’s north shore were formed by the ‘Wailau Slide,’ in which a portion of the volcano collapsed into the ocean, leaving a swath of debris strewn across the ocean floor.

The sea cliffs represent the scar left by the collapse and Wailau and the other windward valleys were cut into the scar after the slide.

The Kalaupapa Peninsula, in north central Moloka‘i, was formed later by volcanic rejuvenation.

Moloka‘i’s North Shore Cliffs were designated a National Natural Landmark in December 1972. The Landmark includes 27,100 acres located along 17 miles of the northeast coast between Hālawa and Kalaupapa.

Four major valleys span the coastline, from Hālawa (at the east end of the island of Moloka‘i) westward toward Kalaupapa: from east to west they are Pāpalaua, Wailau, Pelekunu and Waikolu.

This area is accessible by boat and trails into the valleys; there are no roads through North Shore Moloka‘i.

Wailau is made up of a smaller broad valley on the east and a deeper valley on the west, with two major streams flowing down through them – Kahawai‘iki Stream and Wailau Stream.

The Wailau (“many waters”) stream, which runs the entire length of the valley, is said to have received its name “because it began in many brooks that flowed from the palis on every side.”

Wailau was a major area of taro production from the pre-contact era until the 1930s, when the valley was abandoned due to a combination of factors, including flooding and unfavorable economic conditions.

A series of intact lo‘i, or taro terraces, forms an agricultural system distributed across almost the entire valley.

There are extensive terraces in the seaward lowlands and back in the lower valleys of streams. Approximately 80 acres were planted in taro. The banks of the numerous taro patches in the lowlands can still be seen from the air.

They say Wailau also has high terracing of valley sides comparable to that on the Napali coast of Kaua‘i.

The cliffs just beyond Pāpalaua Valley are home to Kahiwa Falls, the longest waterfall in the state (over 1,700-feet.)

(Some of the historical background information and images come from reports by Windy K McElroy. Some of these and other images of North Shore Moloka‘i are in a folder of like name in the Photos section of my Facebook page.)

Kalawao, encompassing the Kalaupapa Peninsula (also known as the Makanalua Peninsula,) is midway along the North Shore of Moloka‘i.

Archaeological evidence suggests the earliest settlers in the peninsula probably lived in the Waikolu Valley in the A.D. 1100-1550 timeframe. At that time, people had been living in the windward Hālawa Valley for hundreds of years.

The Kalaupapa Peninsula, however, was probably not occupied until slightly later, perhaps around 1300-1400 A.D.

On the peninsula where it is dry and there are no permanent streams, people built field walls to protect crops like sweet potato (‘uala) from the northeast tradewinds. The remnant field walls can be seen from the air as one arrives at Kalaupapa Airport.

In wetter areas near the base of the cliffs, people built garden terraces. True pond field agriculture may have only been practiced in the Waikolu Valley or at the mouth of the Waihanau Valley.

The first peoples of Kalaupapa also collected marine resources along the shore, the reef, and offshore except when strong winter storms prevented it. People visited other parts of the island both by canoe and by trail over the cliffs.

In 1905, the Territorial Legislature passed a law that formed the basis of modern government in Hawaii, the County Act, forming local County governance.

While we easily recognize the four main Counties in Hawai‘i: Kaua‘i, O‘ahu, Maui and Hawai‘i; we often overlook the County of Kalawao, Hawai‘i’s 5th County (encompassing the Kalaupapa Peninsula and surrounding land.)

The four main Counties are governed by elected County Councils. Kalawao is under the jurisdiction of the state’s Health Department; the director of Health serves as the Kalawao County ‘Mayor.’

State law, (HRS §326-34) states that the county of Kalawao consists of that portion of the island of Moloka‘i known as Kalaupapa, Kalawao and Waikolu, and commonly known or designated as the Kalaupapa Settlement, and is not a portion of the County of Maui, but is constituted a county by itself.

This area was set aside very early on as a colony for sufferers of Hansen’s disease (leprosy.) The isolation law was enacted by King Kamehameha V; at its peak, about 1,200 men, women and children were in exile at Kalaupapa.

The first group of Hansen’s disease patients was sent to Kalawao on the eastern, or windward, side of the Kalaupapa peninsula on January 6, 1866.

The forced isolation of people from Hawaiʻi afflicted with Hansen’s disease to the remote Kalaupapa peninsula lasted from 1866 until 1969.

This is where Saint Damien and Blessed Marianne Cope (to be canonized October 12, 2012) spent many years caring for the lepers.

On January 7, 1976, the “Kalaupapa Leprosy Settlement” was designated a National Historic Landmark to include 15,645 acres of land and waters.

On April 1, 2004, the NPS renewed its cooperative agreement with the State of Hawai‘i, Department of Health for an additional twenty years, entitled “Preservation of Historic Structures, Kalaupapa.” The NPS is maintaining utilities, roads and non-medical patient functions and maintenance of historic structures within the park.

Access to Kalaupapa is severely limited. There are no roads to the peninsula from “topside” Molokaʻi. Land access is via a steep trail on the pali (sea cliff) that is approximately three miles long with 26 switchbacks.

Air taxi service by commuter class aircraft provides the main access to Kalaupapa, arriving and departing two to four times a day, weather permitting.

Mail, freight, and perishable food, arrive by cargo plane on a daily basis. The barge brings cargo from Honolulu to Kalaupapa once a year, during the summer months when the sea is relatively calm.

While at DLNR, I had the opportunity to visit Kalaupapa on two occasions: once on a visit to the peninsula to review some of its historic buildings, the other as part of a planning retreat/discussion with the National Park Service.

The image is art done by Edward Clifford of the Kalaupapa Settlement in the 1880s. In addition, I have added additional images of Kalawao – Kalaupapa in a folder of like name in the Photos section of my Facebook page.

Images of Old Hawaiʻi

People, places, and events in Hawaiʻi’s past come alive through text and media in “Images of Old Hawaiʻi.” These posts are informal historic summaries presented for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes.

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